Now what? Holtmann faces questions as offseason begins
CHICAGO – The immediacy of the end of the season made contemplation difficult for Chris Holtmann.
The particulars of what Ohio State went through this season have been well established. Young team, rebuilt roster, losers of 14 of 15 games before closing with five wins in seven games including an unprecedented Big Ten Tournament run that ended with a semifinal loss to No. 1 seed and eventual champion Purdue. With all of that, trying to summarize the feelings of what he will ultimately take away from the 2022-23 season felt a little bit like trying to stop Zach Edey on Saturday afternoon.
It was a bit of a challenge and one probably best saved for a day with some time to both reflect and prepare.
“I think I'll need some time to probably process that and think that through, and maybe I'll have a better statement after I have a chance to kind of process all that went into this year,” Holtmann said after the 80-66 loss to the Boilermakers. “Certainly you leave here feeling really proud of how we competed, and yet we also recognize the struggles. So I need some time to process it.”
Here are three other things Ohio State will have to quickly process as it enters the offseason without a postseason appearance for the first time since 2017. basketball, this question is annually the biggest one for each team once the season ends. Ohio State is in an interesting situation because, should everyone who could return next season decide to return, the Buckeyes will have a full roster with no room for adding via the portal.
Now, that's unlikely to happen. Rutgers was the only Big Ten team not to have a player transfer out last season, and every team other than Minnesota had at least two players leave via the portal. Odds are someone is going to move on from Ohio State with eligibility remaining.
Each player's reasons for picking a school are their own, and speculating on who might be a transfer candidate is a dicey proposition. From a purely statistical standpoint, second-year forward Kalen Etzler appeared in only nine games while first-year guard Bowen Hardman saw time in seven. Wright State transfer Tanner Holden was on the outside looking in when Holtmann cut his playing rotation and was a healthy, unused substitute in eight of 11 games prior to Brice Sensabaugh's season-ending knee injury. Third-year wing Gene Brown III shook off a preseason concussion, earned a role as the season continued but has also already earned his degree.
Ohio State has signed a four-man freshman class that is ranked No. 6 nationally according to 247Sports.com, ensuring that the Buckeyes will remain one of the younger teams in the nation next year. It makes adding another first-year player to the mix unlikely should the Buckeyes have a roster spot to work with, which will put a premium on being selective in the transfer portal.
For a second straight year, Holtmann could find himself in the unenviable position of signing and developing a player to a surprise one-and-done season. Last year, it was Malaki Branham who played his way into the first round of the NBA draft. This year, Sensabaugh could be in those same shoes after leading the team in scoring and earning all-freshman and third-team all-big Ten honors.
It borders on nonsensical to believe that Sensabaugh won't at least enter his name into the NBA draft process and begin the process of receiving honest feedback on his draft stock. Most mock drafts have him going somewhere in the back half of the first round.